🧠 3 Psychology Principles To Kickstart Growth

Hey there,

Welcome back to another edition of Bootstrapped Growth. 👋

We cover 3 powerful psychology principles behind breakthrough growth without increasing ad spend.

Table of Contents

• 🚀 Strategy

• ⭐️ Extra Tips

• 🛠️ Resources

Thanks for reading. Let’s jump in!

🚀 3 Psychology-Driven Growth Examples

1) Commitment Consistency

Todoist (productivity tool) increased premium upgrades by 47% by introducing a goal-setting feature. They found that users who set productivity goals in the app are 3x more likely to upgrade to premium. This is because once people commit to a goal publicly, they feel compelled to follow through.

During onboarding, Todoist prompts users to set specific productivity targets and then sends progress updates. Users become more motivated to upgrade for advanced features to meet their commitments.

Takeaway ➡️ Get customers to make small commitments early. Remind them of their own stated goals as motivation for deeper engagement and upgrades.

2) Anchoring Bias

Mailchimp's (email platform) pricing page restructure boosted average revenue by 52%. They simply moved their ‘premium’ plan to the left of the page so this is the first price customers see. This ‘anchor’ makes the standard plan feel like a better deal by comparison.

Takeaway ➡️ Lead with your highest-priced option to set a psychological anchor. Customers will perceive mid-tier options as better value.

3) Reciprocity Principle

Kit's (email platform) free email course generated 28% more paid conversions than traditional lead magnets. Kit offers a 10-day email marketing course with actionable daily lessons versus a simple PDF download. This is an example of ‘psychological debt’ through providing free value. Recipients feel obligated to ‘return the favor’ by considering the paid product. The course also demonstrates the platform's capabilities without a sales pitch.

Takeaway ➡️ Give away genuinely valuable content. Your investment builds reciprocal obligation and trust.

⭐️ Other Worthwhile Psychological Principles To Integrate

1. Endowment Effect

   People overvalue something they own despite its objective market value. They become reluctant to part with goods they own. Free trials and ‘freemium’ models leverage this by making users feel ownership before asking for payment.

2. Decoy Effect

   Introducing a deliberately inferior option makes the target option appear more attractive.

3. Zeigarnik Effect

   We remember incomplete tasks better than completed ones. Progress bars, unfinished profiles, and ‘almost there’ messaging taps into this psychological principle.

🛠 Useful Resources

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